Google and Nest designed the Google Nest Hub to be an easy-to-operate device. But, like any tech, it can give you those moments of frustration. Here are some of the more common problems you may come across while using the Nest Hub and how to solve them.
Have a speaker? Check out our guide on how to troubleshoot a Google Home smart speaker too.
Your phone and Nest Hub both respond when you say “Okay Google”
Whenever you are close to your Nest Hub, both your device and your phone are supposed to wake up when you say “Okay Google,” but only your device is supposed to respond.
If your device and your phone are both overly eager to do your bidding, there’s a simple fix. First, go to the app store and make sure the Google Home app is updated. Then, make sure the app on your phone and your Hub are using the same Google account. To check, go to Settings and Linked Accounts.
I was having this problem and noticed that for some reason my app was using my Google account I use for work instead of my personal account. A quick switch fixed the problem.
Photo selection is not so great
Nest Hub makes a great photo display frame, but you probably wish it would only show photos of your favorite people or pets. There’s a great feature called “Face Groups” you can turn on that will help the A.I. choose to show just photos of family, friends, and pets. To turn it on, open the Google Photos app, tap on Settings, and then switch on Face Grouping. Once that’s done, go to Albums > Photos and Pets > Menu. Tap on the Hide and Show People option.
Choose the people and pets you want to hide (maybe you don’t want to see your ex’s chihuahua pop up, for example), then choose Done. Now, only photos of your favorite people and animals will show up on your screen as long as you have the Family & Friends album selected as the album you want your Hub to source for photos. Don’t worry, new photos will automatically get added to this album if the photos contain your favorite people.
The app can’t find your Hub
There’s nothing worse than trying to use your Hub and realizing the Google Home app can’t find your device. The Google Home app tends to be glitchy, but most of the time you can solve the problem one of three ways. First, try turning off your phone’s Bluetooth and reconnecting. If that doesn’t work, head over to the app store, and see if the app needs updating. Finally, you may just need to restart your phone.
If the above three fixes don’t work, you may need to manually connect to the Google Home SSID from your phone’s Wi-Fi settings. To do so, go into your Wi-Fi settings on your phone, find the network listed as the name of your device and connect to it. Then, go back into the app and complete the set up for the Hub again. It’s a pain, but sometimes going back through the setup is the only fix.
Google Assistant isn’t listening or won’t follow commands
Though Google Assistant isn’t a person, you can still feel annoyed when it ignores your commands. If it doesn’t seem to be listening or has problems doing what you tell it to, try rebooting it. Go to the Google Home app, choose your device and then tap on Settings. Go to the top right of the screen and tap the More menu and then Reboot. If you don’t want to mess with the app, just unplug your Hub for around 60 seconds, and then plug it back in.
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